


don't flip out!

by babybluebells



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: BACKFLIPS, Because they're teenage boys, Boys Being Boys, Gen, Hijinks & Shenanigans, Onaga/Anahori if you squint, POV Konoha Akinori, Rated T for language, how did I almost forget to tag that when that's literally what this fic is about, just doing dumb shit and screwing around y'know, maybe BokuAka if you squint really hard, minor manga spoilers for chapter 392
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-31
Updated: 2021-01-31
Packaged: 2021-03-18 05:20:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,864
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29112936
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/babybluebells/pseuds/babybluebells
Summary: There was no stopping Bokuto once he’d gotten something in his head. Well, unless you were Akaashi. But Akinori was decidedly not Akaashi, and Saru and Komi were decidedly not Akaashi, and Akaashi was decidedly not in the room at the moment. So there was no stopping Bokuto.Fukurodani has a backflip contest.
Relationships: Bokuto Koutarou & Konoha Akinori, Bokuto Koutarou's Face/The Floor, Bokuto Koutarou/Terrible Ideas, Komi Haruki & Konoha Akinori, Komi Haruki & Konoha Akinori & Sarukui Yamato, Konoha Akinori & Fukuroudani Volleyball Club, Konoha Akinori & Washio Tatsuki
Comments: 6
Kudos: 17





	don't flip out!

**Author's Note:**

> Hey!
> 
> This is inspired by that one panel in chapter 392 where Bokuto screws up a backflip. I was rereading that chapter again recently and couldn't stop thinking about it and now here we are. I have no regrets.
> 
> I put this in the tags but just a quick warning that there ARE technically spoilers for the Haikyuu manga from chapter 392. They're very minor and really only mentioned in passing, but I just wanted to put that out there. 
> 
> With all that said, I hope you enjoy!

This is a terrible idea. 

He should probably do something, anything, to try and talk them out of it, especially since they have a big game tomorrow. It probably wouldn’t be great if anyone were to get hurt right now. 

But Akinori has always been more of an enabler than the voice of reason, and his desire to see how this plays out is currently outweighing the tiny voice in the back of his head telling him that this is probably a bad idea. _Definitely a bad idea_. He tells that voice to put a lid on it. 

He blames Bokuto. The guy comes up with so many ridiculous ideas on a regular basis that Akinori’s just grown accustomed to it. Heck, he’s even gotten in on some of them. Impulse control’s never exactly been his strong suit, and he practically lives off the chaos at this point. Plus, any opportunity to see Bokuto make an ass of himself is a win in his book.

Besides, this probably isn’t even the worst idea Bokuto’s ever had. It might not even be in the top five. So it’s probably fine, right? Talking Bokuto out of terrible ideas is more Akaashi’s thing anyway.

Speaking of Akaashi, they better make sure that he _never_ finds out about this because if he does... 

Akinori shudders. Akaashi is absolutely terrifying when he’s angry. He’ll probably _kill_ them if he finds out. 

That is, if they don’t kill themselves first. 

~~•~~•~~•~~•~~•~~

It had started off innocently enough. 

After the third-years finished their turn in the baths, they had returned to the team’s room with the intention of unwinding before going to sleep, wanting to be well-rested before finals ( _finals!_ ) the next day. All of them had started to come down from the high of their semi-finals win, but the excitement and anticipation in the air was still palpable.

Washio had settled on his futon, looking at something on his phone. Akinori’s curiosity got the better of him and he peered over Washio’s shoulder to see that he was looking at videos of birds. The big softy. He almost can’t believe people find this guy scary. 

Almost. 

Komi, Saru and Bokuto were huddled together a few feet away, completely engrossed in something on Komi’s tablet. Over on the other end of the room, Onaga and Anahori were sharing earbuds, caught up in a conversation of their own. 

Akinori couldn’t seem to tear his eyes away from Washio’s phone, so he made himself more comfortable and watched a very colourful bird hop around to the beat of the song playing in the background. _Fascinating._ He was starting to understand why Washio was so invested in it. 

It didn’t seem like such a bad way to unwind. The videos were almost therapeutic and the room was nice and quiet. Or at least, as quiet as it could get with Bokuto in the room, and that was good enough for him. 

Of course, because he can’t ever have nice things, the peace was disrupted fairly quickly.

“We should do that!” Bokuto yelled excitedly. Never a good thing to hear coming out of Bokuto’s mouth. Akinori sighed, sharing a long-suffering look with Washio before shuffling over to where the other third-years were sitting. 

“What are we doing?” All three of them turned to Akinori as he voiced his question. Saru opened his mouth to respond, but Bokuto cut him off before he had a chance to say anything.

“Backflips!”

“Why.” Honestly, Akinori wasn’t sure why he bothered asking at this point. It was Bokuto. That itself was enough of an explanation. 

“We saw the guy in the video do one, and Komiyan said he can do one, and now I want to do one!” 

_Of course he does_. Akinori pinched the bridge of his nose, already having an idea of where this was going. 

“Bokuto, have you ever even done a backflip successfully before?” Saru asked, sounding genuinely curious. 

“Nope! But I really feel like I could do it right now!” Bokuto puffed his chest out at this. In that moment Akinori wanted nothing more than to smack that overconfident grin off his face. He shared a look with Komi and Saru, both of them looking more amused than concerned for their captain’s well-being. 

At this rate, Bokuto was really going to get his way. 

Akinori frantically glanced around the room before remembering that Akaashi was with the other second-years in the baths right now. He wasn’t sure whether he was relieved that Akaashi would be oblivious to what was going on or worried for their well-being since Akaashi wasn’t there to talk Bokuto out of it. He settled for having his phone on hand so he could either record the whole spectacle or call an ambulance when necessary.

He looked over at Washio who seemed unbothered by the commotion in front of him. They made eye contact and Washio just shrugged before turning his attention back to his phone. A glance over at Onaga and Anahori showed that they were blissfully unaware of everything taking place in the room. Good for them. At least some people would be emerging from this unscathed.

Akinori decided to make a half-assed attempt at talking Bokuto down. At least that way he could say he tried.

“Uh... Do you really want to do this right now? Y’know, big game and all tomorrow. You sure this is safe?” He hears Komi snort beside him and Akinori elbows him in the side, eliciting an indignant yelp from him. 

“Sure it is! We’ve got all these futons, we can just put ‘em together!” Damn Bokuto for actually having a point there. None of them could really argue with that. Of course that would be the one part of this whole thing that he actually thought through.

So that was that. There was no stopping Bokuto once he’d gotten something in his head. Well, unless you were Akaashi. But Akinori was decidedly not Akaashi, and Saru and Komi were decidedly not Akaashi, and Akaashi was decidedly not in the room at the moment. So there was no stopping Bokuto. 

~~•~~•~~•~~•~~•~~

And that’s how they found themselves pushing their futons together so they could all show off their gymnastic abilities (or lack thereof, in some cases) the night before the Spring Tournament Finals. 

Komi clears his throat, bringing everyone’s attention to him. Once their eyes are on him, he breaks out the announcer voice. “And now, ladies and gentlemen—“

“Wait hold up, who are the ladies here?” 

“Shut up!”

They all dissolve into laughter, even Komi who punches Bokuto in the shoulder for interrupting him. 

“And now, _assholes and shitheads_ ,” Komi pointedly ignores the snickers this time, “it’s time for us to decide which of us has the best flippin’ backflip in Fukurodani!” 

“Wait a sec,” Akinori interjects as realization hits him, “ _us?_ As in, _all of us?_ We’re all doing this?”

“Uh, yeah? Unless...” and here Komi’s face takes on a devious smirk, “you’re _scared_ _?_ " 

_That’s it._ All doubts about this idea immediately fly out of his head. Akinori is going to _kick their asses_ if it’s the last thing he does, Spring Tournament Finals be damned.

“In your _dreams_ , asshat,” he spits back, and then he’s walking towards the center of their collection of futons. “Watch and weep, losers.”

It’s been a while since he’s done one, but Akinori is perfectly capable of doing a backflip. He’s suddenly very grateful to have a gymnast for a younger sister. He’s picked up all sorts of tricks from her over the years. He takes a breath and forces the tension out of his body. He jumps, tucks his knees in, and in an instant he’s landing on his feet. No sweat. He bows to his audience.

The three other third-years are silent for a moment, gaping at him as he shoots them a shit-eating grin. Komi claps once, surprise clear on his face, and then the others are joining him as they start clapping wildly, hooting and hollering. They all move in to slap him on the back. Bokuto almost knocks him down and _damn, would it kill this guy to learn some self-restraint?_

“Konoha! Dude, that was badass!”

“Since when were you able to do _that?_ ”

“Jack of all trades, master of none strikes again!”

“Komi you little shit, do you really have to add that last bit in every time?” He makes to grab at Komi but the little gremlin dances out of his reach and hides behind Saru. _Coward_. Akinori glares at him. Komi sticks his tongue out in response. 

“Saru, you should go next!” Bokuto enthusiastically interrupts before Akinori can actually murder Komi. 

“Ehhh, how am I supposed to top that?” Saru steps away from Komi and into the center where Akinori had done his flip. He bends his knees, but then he keeps going further down until he rolls into a back somersault, posing at the end. He smirks as he stands up again and mock-curtsies while the rest of them laugh and tease him. 

“Saru, what was _that?_ ” 

“Only the best backflip I’ve ever seen! I might actually cry, it was so beautiful,” Akinori sniffs and wipes a fake tear from his eye. 

“Sorry I didn’t feel like killing myself the day before the Finals, I’ll hand in my written apology by midnight,” Saru deadpans, getting another laugh out of everybody. 

“Saru, you can’t actually do a backflip, can you,” Bokuto states bluntly. Akinori snorts.

“No I cannot,” Saru sighs dramatically. “Sorry to disappoint.”

They all slap him on the back as he makes his way back over to them. 

“Alright, let me show you _amateurs_ how it’s done!” Komi announces as he makes his way to the middle. 

“Please, O great Komi-senpai, by all means, show us lowly amateurs your backflipping ways!” Saru calls after him, pitching his voice up in a falsetto. Akinori and Bokuto crack up beside him. 

Komi flips them off which only makes them laugh harder.

They’re stunned into silence seconds later when Komi executes an absolutely perfect backflip. 

“Now _that’s_ what I call a backflip!” Komi declares smugly, grinning at them. 

“Holy shit,” Akinori breathes. “Komi. What the _fuck_ , dude?”

“Komi-senpai, you’re so cool!” Saru pretends to swoon, falling into Bokuto’s arms. Bokuto just laughs.

“Not bad, Komiyan! But I’ll do you one better!” After making sure Saru’s standing up straight again, Bokuto walks toward the center, giving Komi a high-five as he passes him. 

Once Bokuto comes to a stop, the atmosphere in the room changes. His expression morphs into one that they usually only see on the court, an expression of immense focus. Akinori can’t help the shiver that runs through his body. 

Bokuto bends his knees, preparing to jump. Everyone holds their breath. He goes up, tucks his knees and _wow, that’s actually kind of impressive, he might actually make it—_

And then he lands on his face.

It’s silent for a moment as they look at Bokuto, lying with his face buried in the futon and his ass in the air. Akinori does his best to hold back a snort. He only sort of succeeds.

“Yo Bokuto, are you alright?”

No response. 

Akinori walks over to him and pokes his shoulder repeatedly. “Uh, Bokuto? You good?”

No response. 

Akinori glances over at Komi and Saru, who stare back at him. Simultaneously, they all start panicking.

“Shit! Why didn’t anyone stop him?”

“It’s Bokuto! You know how he gets!”

“Oh my god, what are we going to _do?_ ”

“Coach is going to kill us! _Akaashi_ is going to kill us!”

At the mention of Akaashi, a look of sheer terror crosses over everyone’s face. Komi looks like he might be astral projecting. Akinori can relate.

With all the commotion, they’ve got the attention of everyone in the room. It’s Onaga who speaks up first.

“Uh, senpai? What’s going on?”

“Bokuto screwed up a backflip and now he’s not moving!” Komi’s voice is bordering on hysterical. 

“And we’ve got a big game tomorrow!” Saru adds on, not sounding much better.

“Coach! Akaashi! Get an ambulance!” Akinori’s yelling as he sprints to the door, hoping either one of them is nearby. He can’t even bring himself to worry about all the trouble they’re probably going to be in for their little stunt at this point. Before he makes it to the door it slides open with a loud _thud_ and the room goes quiet.

Akaashi stands in the doorway, a towel around his neck and his hair still dripping wet. He does not look happy. 

How did he get here so fast? How did he _know?_ Akinori swears the guy’s got some kind of sixth sense for this stuff, like some kind of ‘Bokuto doing dumb shit’ radar. Heck, he wouldn’t be surprised if he actually did. It’s Akaashi, after all. 

“Would anyone care to explain to me why the _hell_ you guys are making such a fuss? And why exactly Bokuto-san is lying in the middle of the room?”

“Oh, Akaashi! Funny you should ask, he’s just... y’know, he’s—"

“Taking a nap! In the middle of the room! You know how Bokuto is. He’s totally fine! Definitely not lying there for any backflip-related reasons—"

“Komi!”

“Dude, seriously?”

A groan from the middle of the room shuts them all up. 

“Man, I really thought I had it that time,” Bokuto whines as he sits up, rubbing the back of his neck. Akinori just stares at him, along with everyone else in the room. Komi’s the first one to recover, running over to punch Bokuto in the arm and earning a yelp from him.

“Bokuto, you ass! Why didn’t you get up right away?”

“Didn’t wanna,” Bokuto says petulantly. “I screwed up, and then the position I ended up in was actually kinda comfy so I figured I’d just lie there for a bit.”

_This guy._

Akinori lets out a huff of annoyance, walks over to where Bokuto is now sitting and smacks him on the back of his head. 

“Why didn’t you _say something?_ I swear you took 10 years off my life!” 

Saru pats Bokuto on the back. “Don’t mind, ace, you’ll get it next time!”

Akaashi clears his throat and they all freeze. They slowly turn towards him, terrified of what they might face. 

“So... backflips?” Akaashi’s expression hasn’t changed since he got there, but Akinori can _tell_ he’s mad, and he’s starting to get impatient.

_Absolutely terrifying._

Bokuto, for better or worse, doesn’t seem to care. Or maybe he just doesn’t notice. Either way, he launches into a very enthusiastic retelling of the night’s events, complete with a few embellishments here and there. 

“—and I kinda messed up, just a little bit! But I really think I could do it now that you’re watching, Akaashi! Look, I’ll try it again!” Bokuto starts to get up and make his way back to the center but Akaashi yanks him back by the collar. 

“Do that and I won’t be tossing to you at all tomorrow.” Akaashi’s tone leaves no room for argument.

“Akaashiiiii!” Bokuto whines but complies, albeit with a small pout on his face. Akaashi’s expression softens slightly and he puts a hand on Bokuto’s shoulder.

“Bokuto-san, we have a big game tomorrow and I don’t want you getting hurt. If you want to show me your backflip, save it for _after_ we win Nationals.” At this, Bokuto perks up and his expression brightens tenfold. 

“Aww, he really _does_ care,” Komi pipes up from the side because he’s a little shit who doesn’t know when to keep his mouth shut. Akinori tries (and fails) not to snicker. Akaashi turns to glare at them.

“If you want me to call an ambulance so badly, I’d be more than happy to give you a reason to need one,” he says, words laced with ice. Akinori shivers.

“Hard pass, but thanks for the offer!” And with that, Komi scurries away, off to bother Washio who’s been watching everything play out, bird videos long forgotten. Akinori can’t blame him. Sometimes watching Bokuto is pretty much the same as bird-watching anyway.

“So... all’s well that ends well?” Akinori shoots Akaashi his most charming grin, hoping he won’t get absolutely blasted for his involvement in... well, everything.

Akaashi hums. “I suppose so... and maybe if we win tomorrow, I’ll consider not telling Coach about this little... _incident_.” 

_Yikes._ Coach Yamiji would have their asses if he found out. 

“Thank you Akaashi-san, you’re so merciful!” 

“Don’t push it.” And with that, he walks over to where his futon is, Bokuto bounding after him. He appears to be talking animatedly to Akaashi, patting him on the back repeatedly. Akinori winces and sends out a silent prayer for Akaashi’s back. 

“Guess we better win, huh?” Saru bumps Akinori with his shoulder. Akinori glances over at him and grins. 

“Guess so.”

Later, when they’re all settled in their futons (back in their proper arrangement now), Akinori’s only thoughts before he drifts off to sleep are of victory. 

And maybe a prayer or six that Akaashi will be merciful enough not to tell Coach Yamiji about the backflips when they win.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! This was so much fun to write, I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! I just love these boys so much. 
> 
> I know they don't appear much but Onaga and Anahori are absolutely adorable. They're really just living their best lives here.
> 
> I made Konoha's little sister a gymnast for plot convenience reasons but now I've grown extremely attached to this headcanon and I am never letting it go. I just love the idea of Konoha being a really good big brother and asking his little sister to teach him things every time she learns something new because she's always so excited about it. 
> 
> I'm on Twitter [@babybluebells](https://twitter.com/babybluebells) so if you want to come say hi, yell at me, or yell WITH me about Fukurodani/BokuAka/Haikyuu in general feel free to drop by!


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